Where has December gone??

December is inevitably busy and chaotic, but yikes!  I have posted a few pictures (scroll down past this entry) to try to capture some of our activities that have taken place in the last few weeks.  While it's always sort of sad to see the holidays come and go, there is something to be said for getting back to "normal".

I personally have had a very blessed month and I have put off writing about it because I am not quite sure how to capture it in words, so here goes my attempt...  

Despite our delayed departure date, the farewell parties went ahead as planned.  It began with a party hosted by Kristy, my best friend since fourth grade.  It was a girls only night and I still feel a bit overwhelmed when I think about the fact that so many women that I love and cherish were gathered together in one place at one time.  I am not sure what we laughed at more...the embarrassing stories of my youth or Kristy trying to read Chinese words during our trivia game (which I won by the way!)  It was a beautiful night from start to finish and I have found myself thinking that women should take turns having parties for each other.  Just a party to appreciate friendship and share memories - there is truly nothing like it.  Thank you Kristy and all the gals who celebrated with me!

The next celebration came in the form of a holiday/going away party hosted by my fellow teacher and dear friend Tammy.  This was for the Humphrey staff and it was truly a gift.  Not only was I given a box full of recipes, but they also presented me with a journal full of letters written by my beloved friends at Humphrey.  It was a great night!  Again it makes me think that we should take time more often to share how much our lives are impacted by each other.  I am so grateful to have been a part of the Humphrey staff - thanks to all of you for your support and friendship!

And so, as Christmas quickly approaches, I find myself somewhat glad that we are not taking off on January 3rd.  I am able to enjoy the holiday and the time with family and friends.  Maybe God needed to slow things down a bit for me so I could take it all in...whatever the case may be, I will celebrate relationships and be thankful for blessings big and small.

Merry Christmas to you!

It's been a busy December!

We went to the Fab 68 picnic at Desert Breeze park - we froze a bit but the girls had a great time!

Ah yes, to be a first grader!  We got a collective "kick" out of the missing teeth epidemic at Emma's Winter Concert at school...
The girls visited with Santa at Bass Pro Shop this year.   This is the first year that I haven't had to be in the picture - the girls were all smiles without me!
Erin celebrated her 4th birthday at Organ Stop Pizza with our family and friends.  My mom is the cake decorator in case you are wondering...
We had Christmas with the Fendrick side and the girls got to have some fun with cousin Jacob.
Here are the cutie pie cousins at the Risen Savior preschool performance.

Happy Birthday Jesus!  

Did we say January...???

Well, I resigned from my teaching position, the movers were scheduled, and our plane tickets were purchased...January 3rd was to be our grand exit...alas, it is not so! Michael received the "official" word today that our move has been pushed to mid-March. Yes, you read that correctly - we will be hanging around for an extra couple of months. There are mixed emotions as you can well imagine. I am grateful for extra time of course, but the uncertainty (because does March actually mean March? or will that turn into June or July?) is truly a test of faith and flexibility.

Mike and I have reveled in our individual and joint pity parties and have come to this conclusion: We cannot change what we do not contol. Our family is healthy, we have our home, we have one stable income, and countless other blessings - we will keep our sense of humor and our appreciation for all that is right in our lives.

Stay tuned...more to come!

No more "Mrs. Fendrick"

Well, I am officially unemployed...it hasn't quite hit me yet, even after a rather difficult day. Giving up the "Mrs. Fendrick" role and going back to a day to day existence in which I am either called "Mom" or "Geneal" is going to take some getting used to. Although I have only been a non-teacher for about 6 hours or so, I feel the need to briefly reflect on my past life.

Being a teacher means that you have days of frustration and failure mixed with days of joy and fulfillment (that should sound familiar if you happen to be a parent). Standardized testing and mountains of objectives to cover takes away from the creativity and energy that every teacher wishes he or she could share with students. What stays in tact are the relationships that are formed each time a new group of kids enters your classroom. Those are the relationships that I will miss...

And regarding my fellow teachers, I can only say that if you ever have an opportunity to work or volunteer at a school you will see what I saw every day - dedicated, committed, hilarious people who make even the hard days seem easier to face. You know those friends who stop to listen when their 'to do' list is a mile long? Those who bring you a diet Coke or a piece of chocolate when you otherwise might hurt someone? Those who will remember where you "filed" that ever important copy of something or other that you needed yesterday? Well, those are the people that I have been blessed to work with...those are the relationships that I will miss...

So my reflections have not been quite as brief as I had hoped - if you know me well, then you are not surprised. What do you expect? This is a fairly large chapter in my life that has now come to an end (let me - or rather Mike - clarify...this is "temporary retirement"). Thanks for reading...Mrs. Fendrick is signing off...

Gotta love the widgets!

I noticed this bookshelf widget on my friends blog and well...I thought I would give it a try! Reading and writing are two of my favorite pastimes and they will become my "job" when I get to China - I plan to settle in a bit and begin my book reading marathon.  If you have any recommendations, I will gladly take them!  

Just a note: Mike thinks I have crossed the blog-geek line with my "bookshelf"...maybe I have...

Oh my...

Just wanted to share a sweet and rather comical moment that must be documented as part of our future lives as "alien residents" of China: As Emma and I were driving home from school today she said, "Mom, there are only two Chinese kids in my class." To which I responded, "Oh, who?" Emma, with all sincerity said, "Me and Mailan".

If you are a parent or even anyone who has spent any time at all with kids, you know the feeling of wanting to burst with laughter and then run to tell the first person you see! I promptly turned up the radio in the back (so Emma wouldn't hear me repeat the story) and called Mike to say, "See what you've done!??!" So there you have it, our 6-year-old now thinks that she is indeed, Chinese.

I guess in some ways I am grateful that she does not get caught up in the physical features that make us all different. Rather she sees people, in all their diversity, as essentially the same. Priceless, huh?

Our home away from home...

Well, we have completed the main objective of this trip - finding a home to live in during our two-year stay in Dalian. Campus Village is the housing development located very close to the Dalian American International School. Without know too much about the housing, we were kind of hoping to live there simply for the convenience factor of being within walking distance to school - also this community serves as kind of "mini-America" in our minds.

Mike and I and our friends, Yukiko and Damon, have secured the last two units in the village and we are thrilled! We will live literally across the hallway from each other on the second floor of a beautiful condominium. The building and its furnishings are designed with the westerner (American) in mind. In fact, the home we will have in China will be bigger and more lavish than the one we have in Chandler... It has three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a den. The kitchen is big and spacious with lots of storage and an adjoining maid's quarters. Emma thought she might like to have the maid's room (since we are not going to have a live-in maid) but now that we have seen it, that's pretty much out of the question. The room is no bigger than a prison cell - it has a shower, sink and toilet, and there is room for a small cot but that's about it!

Intel is providing us with "basic" living provisions including beds and start-up bedding, couches, tables, two 42-inch flat screen TVs and a jacuzzi tub...like I said, just the bare necessities! There is a gym on the grounds and a restaurant. The only drawback to our living location is that it is out in the middle of nowhere - about 20 minutes from the closest shopping/dining area. This just means that I have to be a little more organized about meal planning since I will not have easy access to stores, etc. It's a small price to pay to know that we are in a safe, quiet, clean place where our kids can ride bikes and play at the playground that is right outside our kitchen window.

We spent time at the school and it is a wonderful place. Emma's classroom has only 14 kids so far and they are waiting for four ex-pat kids to arrive, including Emma. They already have her cubby marked with her name so they are ready for her! Her teacher, Miss Lisa, seems great and we just have a really positive feeling about the whole set up. We have lots of pictures but I will have to wait until I get home to add them to the blog. Stay tuned...

Thanks for reading our blog - I know it's lengthy but there is so much to share!

Day 4 - Medical Exam

Michael's take....

Ahhhh, my turn to take this Blog out for a spin! Today we partook in the medical “exam” required for immigration. We were met in the hotel lobby at 8am by some folks from the company that handles our immigration and an English speaking nurse from ISOS (I am sooooooooo glad she was there to help out).

The clinic was walking distance from our hotel and once we entered we realized that we were no longer in “Kansas.” The waiting room was full of people filling out forms and waiting in lines with no sense of order. Once our chaperones completed our paperwork we got into a line to start the “exams”.

Exam 1: EKG
One by one we were ushered into rooms that offered little privacy and when it was my turn I was immediately told to lie down and pull up my shirt. The “nurse” then applied suction cups to several parts of my body and she attached these to a “machine” via something that I can only describe as jumper cables for a car. The “equipment” in the room looked like it was state of the art in 1950.

Exam 2: Blood Pressure
Once I had completed my EKG I had to wait in another line for a blood pressure check. This “exam” had the newest equipment in the clinic. Basically I had to stick my arm into a blood pressure machine similar to one you would find in a Walgreens or a supermarket. Once the reading came out (it was a bit high) the “nurse” asked if I was nervous...”well YEA” I responded. She then listened to at least 15 spots on my chest and I was on my way.

Exam 3: Eye Exam
This test took me back to my days in grade school. I had to hold a stainless steel cover over one eye and point to the direction the “E” was facing. After several different lines and switching eyes I got a score of 1.0. I am not sure what that means, but I was then off to the next line.

Exam 4: X-Ray
I have to start this section by saying...I think I might glow in the dark now and I am pretty sure I will never father anymore kids. I followed the “nurse” into a room and had to stand in front of the X-ray machine while holding a – what I presume – shield over my backside. The machine was the type that the “nurse” had to slide in a film canister, I am pretty sure that many medical museums have this type of machine on display as “back in the day...”

Exam 5: Blood Draw
The blood draw was one of the best I have ever had as the nurse was a master. She found my vein right away and inserted the needle with no problem.

Exam 6: Ultrasound
Yes, all people are required to complete this “exam” and I am happy to say that I am not pregnant. I am not sure what the “nurse” was looking for but she checked everywhere and after she was done I was left to clean up a ton of gel off of my stomach as I left a room with the door busting with several others waiting for their “exam”.

Exam 7: Urine Sample
This was our last act in our “exam” and probably the funniest. We were handed a small cup that held maybe half the volume of a Dixie cup and a plastic test tube that held less than that. I had been warned about this part of the “exam” and was told to think a lot about the sequencing of my actions as there was no place to set the test tube once full.

Because the cup we were given was so small it did not take long to fill and I had to set it aside as I completed what I had started. After finishing, I looked over and realized that I had set my cup next to others that people had also left on the window ledge. My heart stopped as I had to think about which one was mine. I then filled the test tube and left the restroom (I did throw my cup away so that others didn’t have to see my sample).

I will say that the men were pretty lucky as the women had to complete the urine sample in a restroom with only a squatty potty. If you do not know what a squatty potty is...consult Google.



After all was said and done we all have some great stories to tell and are relieved that this experience is over. After having the rest of the day to think about it, this experience was not so bad. I think our fears and anxiety were heightened as we are in a place where we do not speak the language and don’t know the process...this is a great reminder why we need to learn Chinese and learn to roll with the punches.

Well, we are mid-way through our house hunting trip and everything is going well. It began a little rough as Super Shuttle was waiting outside our house at 3:40am and I was still in my towel and blow-drying my hair. Now Mike knows it IS possible for me to get dressed in 10.2 seconds! Anyway, the flights were all on time and smooth (agonizingly long, but smooth). I just kept thinking that the next time I have to make this trip, it will be with the kids and will be the beginning of our ultimate adventure...

On Sunday we went out in search of a 'fabric mart' that Mike had heard about. There was floor after floor of every kind of fabric you can imagine and you can literally have just about anything custom made. We will definitely go back to have jackets made - no sense getting them now to take home and pack up later. They will even make beautiful cashmere sweaters in any color or style you want for about $30 (and I am imagining you can negotiate the prices from there). Mike is totally into the "let's have it made" mantra - bedding, sweaters, jackets - I personnally, am a little bit more of the "let's keep it simple" mantra. I don't have to speak Chinese to purchase something off the rack!

On Monday we went with a guide to set up our bank account, visit the "gym club", and check out what will be our zillions of choices for shopping. There are the wet markets which means the local fruits and vegetables sold on the street (best deal for sure - just have to wash everything really well) - you can also by any kind of meat or fish there too but we're going to stick with meat that is refrigerated... Thankfully there are plenty of places that feel like home (minus good air conditioning) for shopping. Yukiko and I are preparing for the major shopping spree we will have to have to get our homes set up!

We will be heading out soon (it is very early Tuesday morning right now) to look at our housing choices. This is what I am most looking forward to. We will also be spending time at the school and seeing what it looks like when things are in full swing. There is lots more to share but it's getting long. I will write later after we have news about our house!

Riding the other side of Earth

Riding the other side of Earth

Here it is! While there have been countless discussions, scads of questions, and seemingly never-ending planning regarding our move to China, this is the first official written documentation. So, welcome to a birds-eye view of the craziness that is our life at the moment. There are days when you may find our family blog to be informative; days when it may make you laugh or cry; but in the end, it is my hope that it will serve as a detailed journal of what will be the adventure of a lifetime. Visit often, I will try to journal regularly...

Here is what is what I know today, September 30th, 2008:

Mike and I will be traveling to Dalian on October 10th. I am looking forward to this trip - we will be choosing our house, finalizing Emma's school registration, and spending time with our friends, Yukiko and Damon. You will hear about these friends often. We met them on our trip in July '07 - they will move from Oregon with their two kids at the same time we move. Since we met we have considered our two families a "package deal" with regards to housing and travel schedules. We feel so blessed to have met them!

The latest and greatest news to share is that I will be entering the world of "temporary retirement" on November 26th - this is about 3 weeks sooner than the original plan. There is simply too much to do to get ready. Working and preparing for the move/Christmas/Erin's birthday would result in me in a straight jacket bouncing around a padded room somewhere!

We will be leaving for our new home on January 5th, 2009. Many emotions are tied up in this impending date - when people ask me how I feel about the move, I often reply, "Excited AND terrified". That pretty much sums it up! The girls are definitely excited - they can't wait to have their own rooms and maybe even a house with stairs! Ahhh...to have such simple needs.

That's all for now! Check back in soon!